Almost 200 people waited more than eight hours to be seen at the Royal Alexandra Hospital’s A&E recently as the struggle to find beds for patients continues.
Health secretary Humza Yousaf has said record numbers of people are experiencing long waits in emergency departments because hospital beds are full and doctors are struggling to get patients out.
Across Scotland, one in six people in hospital were medically fit to leave but were unable to return home due to shortages in home help services and care in the community.
However, figures obtained by the Express show that, on average, only 24 of the RAH’s 650 beds are filled with patients who are ready to leave at any given time.
But A&E performance at the Paisley hospital is still poor – with only 59 per cent of people being seen within the four-hour recommended time at the end of October.
The Scottish Government target is 95 per cent.
In the week ending Sunday, October 23, 984 people attended the A&E department. Of those, 199 waited more than eight hours to be treated and 58 waited more than 12 hours.
Since the start of October, around 200 people have waited more than eight hours in A&E to be treated every week.
A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said that, while the delayed discharges remained low on paper, the hospital faced a number of challenges in moving patients through hospital wards.
Explaining patients often need to be transferred to other hospitals that are also full, he said these patients are not recorded in the discharge figures.
He added: “The pressure on our A&E service is also multi-factorial.
“While delayed discharge plays a significant role, we are also contending with sicker patients who have been deconditioned during the pandemic. This means treatment is more complex and often results in longer stays in hospital so the bed turnover is not the same as pre-pandemic levels.
“At the same time, across health boards the public is being urged to consider alternative, more appropriate, pathways into care as A&E may not be the best route.
“The Scottish Government has recently launched a national campaign to help inform the public on how to get the right care in the right place, as unnecessary visits to A&E cause additional pressure to an already busy department.
“These factors, coupled with wider staffing issues, all impact our front door A&E services.”
Renfrewshire health and social care partnership (RHSCP) is at the forefront of securing care-at-home packages and care home places for people who require additional support when leaving hospital.
In September, it was ranked as one of Scotland’s best performing teams in getting people out of hospital quickly.
However, it too is under immense strain.
A spokesman for the RHSCP said: “The fact remains that many hospital discharges are delayed due to lack of care at home capacity and care home placement availability, both within our in-house team and with external providers available in Renfrewshire.
“We continue to work hard on our recruitment efforts to improve this position as quickly as possible.”
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